Florida Employment Legal Questions

Unless you have a contract, you can be fired for any reason or no reason as long as it is not a discriminatory reason. You cannot be fired because of your race, sex, religious beliefs, disability, etc. but you can be treated unfairly and terminated as long as discrimination is not the motive.... Read More

Non-compete agreements are legal if you got something in exchange for the promise, and if there is a reasonable time limit and distance limit. 5 miles is reasonable. Was there a time limit or was it forever? If no time limit, it was unreasonable. They can still sue you but no court will uphold it.... Read More

I previously posted the following: As long as what you are saying is true, you should not worry about slander. Potentially, you could have an issue if an invasion of privacy claim were brought because you are publicizing private facts, but generally those claims pertain to embarrassing information.... Read More

You should always let all your attorneys know about your dealings with other attorneys. If you have two attorneys you want to be sure that they are both aware of the same facts and that do not contradict one another. It is foolish to keep one in the dark about the other.   Michael Caldwell 404-979-3150... Read More

Your employer cannot tell you what medical treatment or meds you can/should take. However, if your job involves some duty that makes it dangerous for you to take certain pain killers, then the employer can possibly limit you from performing those duties if it would be unsafe to do so with that medication.  If your doctor is fully aware of what your job duties are and believes that you can perform those duties with the medication, then have the doctor prepare a statement to that effect.... Read More

This depends on how severe the harassment is.  The law allows you to resign for good reason when the employer's harassment is such that most other people would resign if they faced the same situation.  You should discuss this with an attorney to see if your facts meet that criteria... Read More

Yes, there is a florida statute giving you the right to sue and making the employer pay your lawyer fees and court costs if he's found guilty. Keep in mind that this does not protect against opinions ("he is a bad employee") only against false statements of fact. If you want proof, have a friend call from an office phone pretending to be a prospective employer and see what they are saying about you.... Read More

Your right to overtime depends on the kind of work you do.  The Fair Labor Standards Act establishes standards for overtime pay.   The law exempts some employees from its provisions.  Examples of employees who are not covered by overtime pay requirements include executive, administrative and professional employees, certain commissioned retail sales workers, outside sales employees and certain skilled computer professionals.  Other employees also exempted include seasonal amusement workers, certain farm workers and seamen on foreign vessels.  You need to speak to an employment attorney in your area or you can check with the Wage and Hour Division at the Department of Labor (telephone 1-866-4USWAGE).      ... Read More

It might. Are you the only employee who has had this happen? Have you heard or overheard any age-biased remarks from management? Is there a disparity between how older workers are treated and their younger counterparts? What was the reason given for the layoff? Depending on your answers to these questions, you may or may not have a case. Keep in touch with friends at work and see if there is a pattern emerging. If so, you can visit your EEOC office and file a complaint. Meanwhile, apply for u/c benefits.... Read More

Discrimination based on pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions is illegal.  An employer may not single out pregnancy-related conditions for special procedures to determine an employee's ability to work.  In other words, your employer should not have treated you any differently than any other temporarily disabled employee.  If other workers on temporary disability were allowed to modify tasks, perform alternative assignments, or take leave or leave without pay, the employer also must have allowed you to do the same.... Read More

Federal law makes tax returns and tax return information, including W-2 forms,confidential and prohibits their unauthorized disclosure.  As to whether you can release redacted W-2 forms, in 1987 the U.S. Supreme Court held that tax returns are themselves protected from disclosure and, thus, could not be released with redactions.  State courts in Pennsylvania and Colorado have also refused to authorize release of redacted forms.  Of course, you need to speak to an attorney in your area to see if the specific circumstances of your situation may lead to a different outcome.... Read More

You may be able to file a job discrimination lawsuit. It is illegal to harass a woman because of pregnancy, childbirth, or a medical condition related to pregnancy or childbirth.  The federal Pregnancy Discrimination Act forbids discrimination based on pregnancy when it comes to any aspect of employment, including hiring, firing, pay, job assignments, promotions, layoff, training, fringe benefits, such as leave and health insurance, and any other term or condition of employment.  According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), harassment is illegal "when it is so frequent or severe that it creates a hostile or offensive work environment or when it results in an adverse employment decision (such as the victim being fired or demoted)."   The first step is to contact an attorney or the EEOC and request an evaluation of your situation for possible discrimination.  There are time limits which you need to be aware of if you want to preserve your right to sue.  You can learn about your rights at http://www.eeoc.gov/laws/index.cfm. You can also have a preliminary evaluation by the EEOC online. https://egov.eeoc.gov/eas/.  ... Read More

If your daughter was hurt on the way home from work, she may be able to sue the employer and the managers who kept the co-workers from helping her.  However,r depending on the extent of your daughter's intoxication, she may be barred from any recovery.  Under the Florida "Alcohol or drug defense" in liability cases (Statute Section 768.36), your daughter may not recover any damages if at the time she was injured she was under the influence to the extent that her "normal faculties were impaired OR her blood or breath alcohol level was 0.08 percent or higher" AND, as a result, she was more than 50 percent at fault for her own harm.... Read More